President Mohamud hits at Deni, urges him to respect the will of Puntlanders

GOOBJOOG NEWS|MOGADISHU: President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has called on Puntland president Abdullahi Deni to ‘respect’ the wishes of the people of Puntland amid criticism that the Puntland leader was seeking to manipulate the upcoming local government officials.

In what appeared to be a direct criticism against Deni, President Mohamud said failure to heed to the people’s wishes could risk eroding gains made in the last two decades.

“The President of Puntland must consider the wishes of the people and listen to the advice of politicians and local culture,” President Mohamud said. “We cannot be satisfied that the 24 years of hard work that “we have built up will be destroyed in a short period of time.”

Puntland is set to hold state-wide local government elections on May 24 following the successful conduct of pilot elections in three districts in December 2021.

Opposition politicians in Puntland have variously accused Deni of seeking to manipulate the upcoming elections with the intention of extending his stay in office.

Deni severed ties with the Federal Government in January and has since skipped the National Consultative Council meetings which bring together leaders from the federal and state levels.